#Mount Babel

[thorsenmark]

A Mountain Partially Hidden in the Clouds (Banff National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: Mount Babel and some of the peaks behind were slowly coming out from the clouds and morning rain about this time. My friend and I had decided to head for a hike in the Lake Louise area...but there were a few stops along the way there. This was one... I later noticed the pine cones in the trees. I liked how the browns added for a nice color contrast to the greens of the trees.

#Banff National Park #Canadian Rockies #Capture NX2 Edited #Color Efex Pro #Consolation Valley #Day 3 #Drive to Lake Louise #Glacial Valley #Looking South #Looking to Continental Divide #Looking to Mountains of the Continental Divide #Mount Babel #Mountains #Mountains in Distance #Mountains off in Distance #Mountainside #Nature #Nikon D800E #Overcast #Portfolio #Project365 #Tower of Babel #Trees #Valley #Alberta #Canada #flickr

[getbreaded]

So I'm down with covid and I've been wildly unproductive these past three days. I keep looking at my to-do list and panicking and feeling guilty, but you know what, things will work out. Even if they don't, there's no fucking timeline. I just have to keep going and putting in the work when I can.

#Meanwhile I'll just keep sitting here in bed on this mounting pile of tissues #and I'll keep reading Babel #which I'm absolutely loving so far #especially since a lot of the translation theory discourse is familiar af #I'll be okay #covid #uni

[lepertamar]

.

#(the opposite of organizational tags are #echo tags: #) #and the self-laughing half-bowing half-curtseying to yourself standing with your song as you learn this learn it yet again #what intensity of extremity-of-its-kind creature i wish i had laid eyes upon years ago #i’ve never felt a dream that made me feel so dizzyingly desire mad i feel more brightly insane just thinking about it #it is the whole glory of life to be stamped with this Truth: YOU LIVED. desires lit and seals set from your world and lifetime ARE LIFE. of #ofcourse i@always had starson the insides ofmi eyelids about ‘we who wrestle with g-d’ but secretly even from other jews i have #‘wrestle and overcome and mount g-d like a bitch in heat BECUZ they are beautiful and powerful and huge and terrifying and everything’ #‘surely They must laugh in glee if we ever truly succeed in doing so????’ #what starts as resilience falls in love and symbiosis with what you were long-sufferingly wrestling with #all the truest parts of me blushedswollen in reaction and anticipation #the personal mythology of a human lifesoulminddesire is so so So intricate and full of willful implacable unanswerable power about what #infinitely complex and mysterious that no one else can fathom them with a mere violent and erasing dismissal about ‘u’ vs 'society' #we have reached heights far beyond the tower of babel but it is this thirst for understanding that marks us as like unto g d #being born and living. the truth of your longings are stamped like a seal upon your heart in ways so unique and precious and secret and #could be i am her.....i will sell it for no less than a third of your names....argghhh! #but is actually existing as the flaming friction intensity made in the grinding of extreme power #as a jew i say 'b'tzelem elohim' (in the image of g d') + ''ehyeh asher ehyeh' (i am that i am = i will be whatever i will be') #paradoxes and puzzles and wry defeats....they are everything #in a clever paradoxical twist of ponderinghood....what’s the term for it #this is what g-d says to Itself before laughing Itself into a manic break #coal sings #and if u don’t vibe u pivot to projecting and accuse this girl of making demands by dint of being visibly mutilated by a violent crazy #mystical thing she did that brands her as the type of person who likes that and is ruined irrevocably by a thing only insane(tm) people do— #— g d and tamar talking to each other while tamar is standing in the middle of the street with motorbikes honking at her— #this is what i meant in that post about gd being psychotic and the creation of the universe the reintegrative fusion ignition #this is one of my favorites...the casually incongruous lights going about their way is such a familiar and happy memory #yessssss.....infinity opened inside your body. a wormhole or a new big bang that you expand into. rich and dense and glittering. #in the occasional best case scenarios it allows your soul to blast and flower into its whole size and shape and you know its dimensions.

[unravelingwires]

Remounts

Ally gasped, twitched, and, on instinct, braked the bicycle just enough to jerk herself off of it. The momentum sent her stumbling forward before she could bring herself to a twitching, jittering stop. The part of her brain that was handling biking itself—navigating, avoiding obstacles, tilting her head precisely so she could see without having the street lights pitch her into sensory hell—shut off gratefully. The part of her brain that handled common sense started screeching about stopping her bike on a deserted street at night. She bit her lip and shoved the latter to the back of her head. She had to focus on what she could actually control, right now.

Ally loved biking when stressed. Once she started pedaling, it felt like she could outrun her problems, like she could inhabit her body instead of her constantly spiraling mind. Unfortunately, every action had an equal and opposite reaction, so now that she was stopped, her increased heart rate was making everything worse. Her lungs were expanding without taking in air. Her hands were fidgeting without moving. It was only a matter of time before her skin split along the seams.

Ally grit her teeth, breathed. In, two, three, four; hold, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight; out, two, three, four, five, six, seven. Again. The air was slightly too cool, now that she wasn’t biking. The last tendrils of sunlight were disappearing from the horizon, the sun itself already gone. She could hear a crow in the distance. The world was calm and quiet. Nothing was happening. Anything could be fixed.

Ally looked around for anything that might have set of her anxiety. All she saw was an empty road. Not quite calm, not quite panicking, she got back on her bike. Her heart rate picked up before she started pedaling. Regardless, she got moving.

#To remount is to mount a horse again after dismounting #anxiety #neurodivergent #creative writing #my writing #library of babel #unedited #original characters #my ocs #space romp #not quite canon

[popemoses]

Shavuot/Pentecost

The holiday of Pentecost is the greek name for the Jewish biblical holiday called the “Feast of Weeks” or “Shavuot”. This year it falls on May 25, 2020. It’s a reminder of a few things: The end of the Counting of the Omer The time of the wheat harvest The giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai The reading of the book of Ruth The outpouring of the Holy Spirit The reconciliation of the Tower of…

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#Babel #Holy Spirit #Mount Sinai #Mt. Sinai #Omer #Pentecost #Ruach HaKodesh #Ruth #Shavuot #Sinai #torah #Truth

[jareckiworld]

Jean-François Rauzier — The Library of Babel (c-type print, mounted on aluminium, 2013)

#Jean-François Rauzier #french art #the library of babel #Jorge Louis Borges

[broken-clover]

One (Semi-obscure) Fact About Every Guilty Gear Character

I like trivia. And I like Guilty Gear. Being a series that’s been around for the better part of two decades, it’s only natural there’s some details that are less known about. So I wanted to make a silly little compilation about that, inspired by ‘One Obscure Fact About Every Total Drama Character’ by voiceunderthecovers on Youtube. 

As the title suggests, I also specifically did my best to pull out facts that may be less known even to fans of the series, so ideally there’s no ‘Sol is based on Freddie Mercury’-tier stuff here. I tried to find something interesting for everyone!

Characters are listed in order of their first playable games

Missing Link

Sol Badguy- Sol was originally meant to be voiced by actor Koichi Yamadera rather than developer Daisuke Ishiwatari, but given the developer's budget at the time, he would have been too expensive to afford

Ky Kiske- While Ky has been consistently voiced by Takeshi Kusao for the entire series' run in Japanese, he has been given a different voice actor for every dubbed game for both the English and Korean versions. This means that Ky has had seven official voice actors in total, making him among the highest of the cast alongside Testament

May- May is one of only a few characters in the series to have a tattoo, and only one of two where it is not implied or indicated to be magical in some way, alongside Potemkin's barcode

Potemkin- Several of Potemkin's moves across games reference Hinduism. Strive's 'Garuda Impact' is named after a birdlike demigod that acts as a mount for Vishnu, while Xrd SIGN's 'Trishula' is named for a divine trident-like weapon wielded by the god Shiva

Chipp Zanuff- According to prototype and side materials, Chipp is 22 years old as of Missing Link.

Faust- Possibly to go along with his nature of being a doctor with the desire to treat anyone he comes across, Faust's blood type is O, the universal donor

Axl Low- Axl claims the specific date he desired to return to was May 14, 1998. This is the same date that Missing Link was released in Japan

Millia Rage- According to her Xrd SIGN story mode, Millia's favorite flower is the Easter Lily

Zato-1- Based on his abduction dialogue in Strive, Zato believes in aliens

Kliff Undersn- Despite being removed from the Wii version of XX Accent Core, along with Justice, both their names and endings remain in the game's code. They also both contain original art that had never been used up to that point

Testament- The twin demons that Testament summons in Strive are the same singular familiar they possessed in prior games, simply named ‘Succubus,’ possibly split into two entities similarly to Ramlethal's familiar Lucifero

Justice- In Missing Link, Justice was voiced by Arc System employee Takuya Morito, who also voiced Chipp

Baiken- Baiken was initially a difficult character to include in the series, as due to being an amputee, it brought up issues with compliance standards at the time

X

Anji Mito- one of his aliases, Hirasawa, was actually planned to be his name during the start of X's development

Venom- During the winpose where he spins his cue, it is able to interact with any remaining balls that are still set up nearby

Johnny- Johnny is implied to have a close history with Gig, the main antagonist of the DS spinoff game Guilty Gear Dust Strikers

Jam Kuradoberi- In Blazblue, Litchi Faye-Ling's theme 'Oriental Flower' is a remix of her X theme, 'Babel Nose'

Dizzy- In the Guilty Gear XX Burst Encyclopedia, full-bodied sketch concepts exist for her wing entities, Necro and Undine. It is unknown currently if the designs were ever meant to be implemented into the game or if they were simply unused concepts

XX

Bridget- Bridget’s usage of a yo-yo as a weapon was inspired by a world-class yo-yoer that Daisuke Ishiwatari knew during the development of XX

Slayer- In SIGN, Slayer is shown to be able to control his limbs even after being severed

Zappa- In his Accent Core character art, Zappa is drawn with six fingers on his right hand. This has never appeared before or since, and is likely just an error. However, in some circles, six fingered-hands are viewed as spiritually significant

I-no- Her main guitar weapon, 'Marlene,' closely resembles the real-life Starplayer TV model manufactured by German company Duesenberg. One of her design inspirations, Sheena Ringo, owned a similar guitar, which she referred to as 'Dietrich.' Collectively, both may be a reference to German actress Marlene Dietrich

Robo-Ky- In #Reload, Robo-Ky is unique in that he has two separate standard match themes, with a day version and a night version depending on what round is occurring

Overture

Sin Kiske- In all of his playable appearances, Sin has never been depicted wearing socks

Izuna- Despite often being assumed to be a kitsune due to his foxlike ears, it is implied through his story in the Overture Original Material Collection that Izuna is actually a tsukumogami made from a hairpin

Dr. Paradigm- Prior to Strive bringing back several actors from SIGN, Paradigm was the only character to have a consistent dub voice, retaining the same actor in SIGN that he did in Overture

Raven- The portraits used for his non-playable appearance in XX are traced from the illustrations used in the side novel Lightning the Argent

Xrd

Bedman- He shares his voice actor with the character Marth from the Fire Emblem series in both his original Japanese and English dub voices, Hikaru Midorikawa and Yuri Lowenthal respectively

Ramlethal Valentine- Ramlethal is the only Xrd Valentine to not be associated with a holiday

Elphelt Valentine- Elphelt is the only playable female character depicted wearing earrings. There are more playable men in Guilty Gear that wear them than women.

Leo Whitefang- The PS3 console version of Xrd SIGN contains unused prototype art for an alternative version of Leo's character portrait

Jack-O Valentine- Similarly to Elphelt and Ramlethal, Jack-O is mechanically unusual as a character, in her case due to her servant-summoning mechanic. It is often believed that this is a reference to the tower-defense style gameplay of Overture, where the original Valentine appeared.

Kum Haehyun- Haehyun only speaks with her own voice during her outro animation. All of her other dialogue is spoken through her mech

Answer- Possibly as a way of properly proportioning the third lens of his glasses, Answer's model contains a second nose above the first. This was left in place and simply made invisible rather than be removed in the final version

STRIVE

Nagoriyuki- Though he was teased in the very first trailer for Guilty Gear Strive at EVO 2019, he remained unnamed for almost a year until his official trailer was released along with Leo’s in July 2020

Giovanna- Despite it being her debut game, across the entire script of Strive's story mode, Giovanna only has 22 lines of spoken dialogue, totaling 157 words overall. For reference, Sol speaks more than that during his first 10 lines

Goldlewis Dickinson- Along with Bridget, Delilah, and the Valentines, Goldlewis is one of the few characters who canonically has a sibling

Happy Chaos- In Baiken's Strive DLC trailer, an error occurs near the beginning where during a brief pan along the character's name, a trait consistent along all of the Seaon 1 DLC trailers, it erroneously reads as 'Happy Chaos' rather than 'Baiken.' It is unknown how this mistake occurred or made it to the final version, though it was fixed by the next installment, as Testament's trailer lacks this error

Delilah- Her English voice actor, Jessica DiCicco, voiced another adolescent telekinetic, Franke Athens, in the cult classic game Psychonauts

That Man- With his full name being given as Asuka R. Kreutz, he is one of only two characters to be given a middle initial, alongside Bedman

#i spent way too much time on this #I'm not sure how I feel #I'm just hoping to god I didn't fuck up on a bunch of these #I tried to do my research #guilty gear #everyone #OP back on her bullshit

[southpacifictravel]

Moraine Lake lies at the foot of Mount Babel (3,018 meters) near Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada. It formed as a result of the rockpile on the left.

#MoraineLake #MountBabel #LakeLouise #Alberta #Canada

[paulzizkaphoto]

Post-storm drama on the incredible spires of Mount Babel, Banff National Park. One of the many moods of the mountains! #ShotOnCanon #CanonAmbassador — view on Instagram https://ift.tt/j1KkqBr

#Instagram #IFTTT

[natures-moments]

Mount Babel, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

[muzzleroars]

Yo, I was looking up information on Fraud to ask you questions but apparently in Dante's fanfiction at the end of Fraud and the start of Treachery there is the 'Central Well of Malebolge' which is filled with Giants, both biblical and greek all of whom are related to treachery, which leads on to the thought of Minos, or more exactly the giant husk that remains in Lust and also Sisyphus's giant corpse in Greed, both commited 'treachery' to heaven by reform and rebellion. I wonder if there is a connection between rebeling = get huge or if it was something manufactured by heaven or hell for some weird reason.

It would be interesting if on return to Treachery Gabriel's old body became a massive icy landmark and a reminder to all he lost. there is a metaphor there.

oooooh yes the pit of giants is an odd part of the inferno but it makes a very stark and startling end to dis as the poets reach cocytus - dante at first mistakes the giants for massive towers or turrets, believing them to be more hellish architecture before virgil corrects him. most are classical giants from greek myth, with the majority seemingly punished for defying zeus and now, ironically or perhaps fittingly, keeping guard around the frozen lake of the treacherous. however, there's a weird wrinkle in the souls here with the presence of antaeus and nimrod. antaeus did not join the rebellion against zeus; accordingly, he is unchained and assists the poets down to cocytus. but then nimrod is also located here - he defied god by building the tower of babel, but absolutely nothing suggests he was a giant in life. so it's quite possible these giants are representatives of pride as a forerunner to treachery, which has no other place in hell (yet does on mount purgatory and is considered a deadly sin)

it follows then that what you're saying makes a lot of sense, that like the angels perhaps husks have a secondary way of growing massive in size - angels have virtue, husks could have pride (as measured by heaven, and certainly deciding to rebel against their station - as lucifer once did - suggests a staggering amount). i'm also just SO fascinated with the idea of gabriel's cast off "husk" (as i think of fallen angels being sort of an equivalent to prime souls - they are a rebirth only achieved by the higher ranks). i love the idea of it being inert, not a threat of any kind, frozen and dead, but absolutely sickening for gabriel to confront. it may even be frozen totally in cocytus as all those in judecca are - twisted and locked deep in the ice, yet impossible to miss in its now enormous scale. and just the thought of him crossing over cocytus only to look down and see that....idc how close they are to the bottom of hell, they're turning around!!!!

#this is such a neat concept ouuughh thank u anon #he thought his own tomb was bad...this is too much!!!! #hell playing nasty pranks continues #also tho it'll be interesting to see if/how the giants are incorporated in game... #fighting ten corpse of minos at once #cake answers #fallen gabriel

[thorsenmark]

Mountain Peaks Around the Valley of the Ten Peaks (Banff National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A far off view from Morant's Curve along the Bow Valley Parkway.

#Alberta Provincial Highway No. 1A #At Morant's Curve #Banff National Park #Banff-Lake Louise Core Area #Blue Skies with Clouds #Bow Range #Bow Valley Parkway #Canadian Rockies #Capture NX2 Edited #Color Efex Pro #Day 2 #Evergreens #Hillside #Hillside of Trees #Hillsides #Looking SW #Looking to Continental Divide #Looking to Mountains of the Continental Divide #Meadow #Mount Babel #Mount Bell #Mount Fay #Mountain Peaks Around the Valley of the Ten Peaks #Mountains #Mountains in Distance #Mountains off in Distance #Nature #Nikon D800E #Project365 #Snowcapped

[titleknown]

-TRESSCHANKA is an Equestrian Colonel of Hell, with 1500 rider-horses and 23 non-contiguous fronts of combat. She may grant perfect aim with artillery and expanded range with explosives, and may teach in all arts millitary, equestrian and pseudo-equestrian.

She appears as a woman in a general's outfit with the head of a horse, riding a great bear of metal festooned with cannons. Do not question her advice or she will cause great injury to your houses-

...As a person Tresschanka is one who would coloquially be called "an old war-horse" if one weren't worried about a 21--centimeter shell to the skull upon saying this. Which I very much was, given that is exactly what happened when one demon whispered that while I was at her training camp asking for an interview.

She was one of the earliest generations born in Hell, as she will loudly and vociferously state to anyone within earshot of insufficient obsequiousness, and will talk at end upon end about the reason Hell isn't fighting Heaven now is sheer weakness rather than pragmatism (or, at least, overtures towards acnowleging pragmatism) and her training camp shows it, given the amount of bodies of the "weak" I noticed in the architecture. And the weaponry. And the rations. And the furniture.

Her ruthlessness even applies to her symbiotic "mounts," which despite their animal intelligence and undying loyalty she has a very... well, a friend of mine by the name of Ooky-Spooky would put it as a "We're gonna need a new Timmy" attitude to the organisms, and I would say perhaps that sums it up well. 

While I have seen many sights on this multiversal axis I would rather not have, seeing her drag her upper torso from one war machine to another, organs trailing as she barks invectives is one more of those.

While the training camp she runs is harsh and austere where it's not baroquely decorated with what were formerly the "unworthy," a striking feature is the gargantuan guns jutting from the top. She takes massive pride in them, speaking all the time about how she erects new and greater ones constantly, how stiff and sturdy they are and how she polishes them all the time. I decided it was wise not to comment.

And it is for the ultimate purpose of her academy that the guns are used. It is known that her dropouts; the ones that escape anyway; are some of the most brilliant martial minds in hell. But those that stay, are fated to be very literal cannon fodder. 

For, she aims her guns at heaven, firing horsemen to lead a charge of the light brigade against the light... only to land upon the battlefields of Hell instead with a puddle of gore, most of it the riders' own.

The battlefield, curiously, is always Troupier's, no matter how high she builds those guns, serving as additional munitions of torture to those souls on that battlefield. From looking at records, Troupier also appears to be the most major source of funds and students for her training school. If she is aware of the implications, she does not speak a whisper of it.

Though, I do not think she is. She is too much a true believer in war and the great lie thereof to know the truth of where it ends...

-Xavier X. Xolomon , Monsterologist and Understudy to The Librarian Of Babel

----------------------------

...So, this one ended up a lot darker than I initially thought it would. Which is good at least I think, I worried I wasn't including enough darkness in my Hell setting, and I think this at least added a proper bit of thematic nastiness back in.

As per usual the whole descriptions, designs, ectcetera from this project are free to use as you see fit under a CC-BY 4.0 license so long as I; Thomas F. Johnson, am credited as their creator!

#my art #my writing #helloween #demon #demons #war #war crimes #horse #war machine #character design #creature design

[londonfoginacup]

The mythological symbol of a ladder extending from Earth to heaven appeared in a dream to Jacob, son of Isaac. The icon of a cosmic stairway on which angels move up and down between the earth below and Yahweh at the top is recorded in the Hebrew bible. Within the major world religions, the image of the sky ladder is little more than a vestige of a motif that played a far more prominent role in ancient cosmologies worldwide. You don't know your bible.

(Note: religion and theology talk ahead)

Ex… Excuse me??????? I wake up to THIS?? Anon what. WHAT.

“You don’t know your Bible” oh my god I have never felt so insulted. I don’t fall for anon bait usually but jfc you’ve found my weak spot. WHAT. Are you really trying to imply that my funny little Daylight/Late Night Talking fanart was in reference to JACOB’S LADDER?

(Screencapped like this to make it smaller)

What. Do you think I am unaware of the theological interpretations of Jacob’s Ladder? The ladder that Jacob saw in a dream/vision while fleeing from Esau? Are you trying to make me aware of the many interpretations of Jacob’s Ladder, anon, that perhaps it’s referring to the many exiles of the Jewish people (I lean toward that one), or that it signifies the bridge between Earth and heaven (as Jacob was likely on Mount Moriah at the time), or perhaps that it’s a representation of the personal struggle with sin over a lifetime, the way one ascends and falls? Is it a representation of the covenant between God and his people? Or even the Islamic interpretation, which I do not pretend to know nearly as much about, that the ladder represents the straight and narrow path? Or, as you refer to the Bible, I assume you are looking for the common Christian interpretation where this ladder is God bridging the gap to Man, unlike when Man tried to do the opposite with the Tower of Babel, now Jesus himself is the ladder, as he himself states in John 1:50-51?

Anon. ANON. You come to ME about religion? Would you perhaps like to see the photo I took MYSELF of the Jacob’s ladder that climbs the side of the cathedral in Bath? (Trick question you can’t because I’m at work and it’s on my home computer)

Well first of all I’ll have you know that the art I made was based off of this post “second mv now where he's coming from the sky...”. Like??? I was doing art based on the symbolism of Harry’s videos. Come on. If this was a ladder ascending to the heavens, Harry would be a HELL OF A LOT HIGHER UP. PLANES FLY HIGHER THAN THAT BOY. I assume that the vision is more of him creating a separation for himself, of coming down to interact with the world and ascending back to safety. Also, if anything, I would look at the art I made and deduce a sort of princess and the pea idea from it. A stranded princess sleeping atop an offered bed while people around watch to see if she really is the princess she says she is, waiting for her to fail at the tasks given her, an audience intent on hoping she will miss the pea under her heaven-high stack of mattresses, or hoping perhaps that she’ll just fall off the ladder.

Anon. NOTHING in this art was biblical allegory. And if it was? You would be able to tell! I am not subtle with my allegories!

Perhaps you would like to read my Christmas fic Unto You in which I wrote the story of the birth of Christ as an a/b/o fic set in Victorian England where Harry is Mother Mary. IS THAT SUBTLE ENOUGH FOR YOU?

Or, actually more subtle, my Big Bang fic Through a Mirror Dimly the title of which references 1 Corinthians 13:12 “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.”‬ ‭(ESV‬‬ version), in which I use that verse in reference to the darkness that Louis in that fic is living in, as someone struggling with undiagnosed OCD and whose roommate is not able to see him for who he truly is until the truth is revealed.

“little more than a vestige of a motif that played a far more prominent role in ancient cosmologies worldwide” Your attempt at pretentiousness is lost when you are not fighting a real battle. Come to me when you want to have a real conversation about the apologetic implications of Phil 1:15-18 and using biblical types as trope in fic. Then we can talk.

#tw religion #tw theology #long post #if you want me to tag more tw let me know #AKSHKSHDHSHS ANON WHAT #how’s that intro to world religions class going #my almost 20 theology class credits are doing very well thank you #im mostly messing around in this post because I do not think anon was coming in any good faith lmao #(get it. good FAITH get it) #if anyone actually wants to have theological discussion I would be much more cordial and kind pls don’t take this as me being flippant #I mean. I am being flippant but I mean flippant about anyones religion #but anyway. come find me when you too have scribbled outlines for a/b/o fics on your prayer notes #and drawn Harry in the margins of your homiletics test

[veganpeachpie]

Books without overwhelming romance

I feel like a lot of books people talk about these days have a heavy focus on romance and spice, which really isn't my cup of tea, and it's hard to find good recommednations that don't have that. So here are some YA/adult books I love that don't have romance as a huge part of the plot!

(There may be some minor romantic subplots, but they aren't a major focus.)

The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles In June, 1954, eighteen-year-old Emmett Watson is driven home to Nebraska by the warden of the work farm where he has just served a year for involuntary manslaughter. His mother long gone, his father recently deceased, and the family farm foreclosed upon by the bank, Emmett’s intention is to pick up his eight-year-old brother and head west where they can start their lives anew. But when the warden drives away, Emmett discovers that two friends from the work farm have hidden themselves in the trunk of the warden’s car. Together, they have hatched an altogether different plan for Emmett’s future.

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles In 1922, Count Alexander Rostov is deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, and is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol, a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin. Rostov, an indomitable man of erudition and wit, has never worked a day in his life, and must now live in an attic room while some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history are unfolding outside the hotel’s doors. Unexpectedly, his reduced circumstances provide him entry into a much larger world of emotional discovery.

Babel by R.F. Kuang 1828. Robin Swift, orphaned by cholera in Canton, is brought to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell. There, he trains for years in Latin, Ancient Greek, and Chinese, all in preparation for the day he’ll enroll in Oxford University’s prestigious Royal Institute of Translation—also known as Babel. The tower and its students are the world's center for translation and, more importantly, magic. Silver-working—the art of manifesting the meaning lost in translation using enchanted silver bars—has made the British unparalleled in power, as the arcane craft serves the Empire's quest for colonization. For Robin, Oxford is a utopia dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. But knowledge obeys power, and as a Chinese boy raised in Britain, Robin realizes serving Babel means betraying his motherland. As his studies progress, Robin finds himself caught between Babel and the shadowy Hermes Society, an organization dedicated to stopping imperial expansion. When Britain pursues an unjust war with China over silver and opium, Robin must decide . . .

This Savage Song by V.E. Schwab Kate Harker and August Flynn are the heirs to a divided city—a city where the violence has begun to breed actual monsters. All Kate wants is to be as ruthless as her father, who lets the monsters roam free and makes the humans pay for his protection. All August wants is to be human, as good-hearted as his own father, to play a bigger role in protecting the innocent—but he’s one of the monsters. One who can steal a soul with a simple strain of music. When the chance arises to keep an eye on Kate, who’s just been kicked out of her sixth boarding school and returned home, August jumps at it. But Kate discovers August’s secret, and after a failed assassination attempt the pair must flee for their lives.

Anxious People by Frederick Backman Viewing an apartment normally doesn’t turn into a life-or-death situation, but this particular open house becomes just that when a failed bank robber bursts in and takes everyone in the apartment hostage. As the pressure mounts, the eight strangers begin slowly opening up to one another and reveal long-hidden truths. As police surround the premises and television channels broadcast the hostage situation live, the tension mounts and even deeper secrets are slowly revealed. Before long, the robber must decide which is the more terrifying prospect: going out to face the police, or staying in the apartment with this group of impossible people.

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig Somewhere out beyond the edge of the universe there is a library that contains an infinite number of books, each one the story of another reality. One tells the story of your life as it is, along with another book for the other life you could have lived if you had made a different choice at any point in your life. While we all wonder how our lives might have been, what if you had the chance to go to the library and see for yourself? Would any of these other lives truly be better? Nora Seed finds herself faced with this decision. Faced with the possibility of changing her life for a new one, following a different career, undoing old breakups, realizing her dreams of becoming a glaciologist; she must search within herself as she travels through the Midnight Library to decide what is truly fulfilling in life, and what makes it worth living in the first place.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will be busier still. By her brother's graveside, Liesel's life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is The Gravedigger's Handbook, left behind there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery. So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordian-playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever there are books to be found. But these are dangerous times. When Liesel's foster family hides a Jew in their basement, Liesel's world is both opened up, and closed down.

The synopses were all taken from Goodreads. Feel free to comment/DM me if you have any questions about these!

#amor towles #the Lincoln highway #a gentleman in moscow #book recommendations #book rec list #books #literature #books and reading #the book thief #Markus zusak #matt haig #the midnight library #anxious people #Frederick backman #this savage song #ve schwab #babel #rebecca f kuang

[officialyourdailyinspiration]

Famous stories in the Bible

The top ten favourite Bible stories

The Birth of Jesus (Luke 2.1–7 and Matthew 2.1–12)

Noah’s Ark (Genesis 6.9–9.17)

The Good Samaritan (Luke 10.25–37)

The Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus (Mark 15.20–41; Matthew 28.1–21)

The Exodus (Exodus 14.1–31)

David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17.1–58)

The Ten Commandments (Deuteronomy 5.1–22)

Jesus feeds the five thousand (Mark 6.31–44)

Jesus turns water into wine (John 2.1–11)

The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5.1–7.29)

The 100 best-known stories in the Bible

From the Law collection

Creation and the fall (Genesis 1–3)

Noah and the flood (Genesis 6.9–9.17)

The tower of Babel (Genesis 11.1–9)

The call of Abraham (Genesis 12.1–9 and 17.1–8)

Three visitors to Abraham (Genesis 18.1–15)

Joseph the dreamer (Genesis 37–45)

The birth of Moses (Exodus 1.8–2.10)

Moses and the burning bush (Exodus 3.1–15)

The ten plagues (Exodus 7.6–11.10)

Crossing the Red Sea (Exodus 13.17–14.31)

Manna and quail (Exodus 16)

Exploring Canaan (Numbers 13.1—14.12)

Balaam’s donkey (Numbers 22.21–38)

The Ten Commandments (Deuteronomy 5.1–22)

The death of Moses (Deuteronomy 34)

From the Historical books

Entering the Promised Land (Joshua 3)

The fall of Jericho (Joshua 5.13–6.27)

Deborah leads God’s people (Judges 4–5)

Gideon fights the Midianites (Judges 6–7)

Samson and Delilah (Judges 16)

Ruth and Naomi (Ruth 1–4)

Israel asks for a king (1 Samuel 8)

God chooses David as king (1 Samuel 16.1–13)

David kills Goliath (1 Samuel 17)                      

David becomes king (2 Samuel 5.1–12)

David and Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11)

Solomon and the wise judgement (1 Kings 3.16–28)

Solomon builds God’s temple (1 Kings 6)

Israel rebels against Rehoboam (1 Kings 12.1–24)

Elijah and the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18.16–46)

The still small voice (1 Kings 19)

Elijah is taken up to heaven in a chariot (2 Kings 2.1–12)

Judah is taken into exile in Babylon (2 Kings 24—25)

The people are allowed to return from exile (Ezra 1)

From the Major Prophets

Isaiah's vision of God (Isaiah 6.1–8)

Isaiah’s prophecies about a Messiah (Isaiah 7.10–17)

Isaiah’s message of comfort (Isaiah 40.1–11)

The suffering servant (Isaiah 52.13—53.12)

Jeremiah and the potter’s house (Jeremiah 18)

Jeremiah and the new covenant  (Jeremiah 31.1–34)

Ezekiel’s vision of a chariot (Ezekiel 1)

Ezekiel’s vision of dry bones (Ezekiel 37.1–14)

Daniel and the fiery furnace (Daniel 3)

Daniel and the lions’ den (Daniel 6)

From the Minor Prophets

Hosea told to marry a prostitute (Hosea 1)

Joel’s vision of the future (Joel 2.28–32)

Amos’ condemnation of the king (Amos 7.10–17)

Jonah (Jonah 1–4)

From the Gospels

The birth of Jesus is promised (Luke 1.26–38)

Mary gives birth to Jesus (Luke 2.1–7)

The shepherds and the angels (Luke 2.8–20)

The visit of the wise men (Matthew 2.1–12)

Jesus is taken to the temple (Luke 2.22–40)

Joseph, Mary and Jesus escape to Egypt (Matthew 2.13–23)

Jesus gets lost in the temple (Luke 2.41–52)

John the Baptist announces Jesus (Matthew 3.1–12)

Jesus is baptised (Mark 1.9–11)

Jesus is tempted in the wilderness (Luke 4.1–13)

Jesus calls the first disciples (Mark 1.16–20)

Jesus changes water into wine (John 2.1–11)

Jesus heals a paralysed man (Mark 2.1–12)

Jesus talks to a Samaritan woman (John 4.4–42)

Jesus calms a storm (Matthew 8.23–27)

Jesus heals Jairus’ daughter (Mark 5.21–43)

John the Baptist is beheaded (Matthew 14.1–12)

Jesus feeds five thousand people (John 6.1–15)

Jesus walks on water (Matthew 14.22–33)

Peter recognises Jesus as the Messiah (Mark 8.27–30)

The transfiguration of Jesus (Luke 9.28–36)

Jesus rescues a woman caught in adultery (John 8.1–11)

Jesus heals a man born blind (John 9)

The parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10.25–37)

Mary, Martha and Jesus (Luke 10.38–42)

Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead (John 11.1–44)

The parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15.11–32)

The parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16.19–31)

Zacchaeus the tax collector (Luke 19.1–10)

Mary anoints Jesus’ feet (John 12.1–8)

Jesus washes the disciples’ feet (John 13.1–30)

Jesus has a last supper with his friends (Mark 14.12–26)

Jesus is arrested in the garden of Gethsemane (John 18.1–13)

Peter denies Jesus (Luke 22.54–62)

Jesus is crucified (Mark 15.20–41)

Jesus is buried (Matthew 27.57–66)

The resurrection (Matthew 28.1–15)

The road to Emmaus (Luke 24.13–35)

Mary meets the risen Jesus (John 20.1–18)

The great commission (Matthew 28.16–20)

Jesus forgives Peter (John 21)

From ‘The Good News Spreads’

Jesus ascends into heaven (Acts 1.4–11)

The Holy Spirit is sent to the disciples (Acts 2.1–13)

Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5.1–11)

The stoning of Stephen (Acts 6.8—7.1 and 7.54–60)

The conversion of Saul (Acts 9.1–19)

Peter’s escape from prison (Acts 12.1–17)

The council in Jerusalem (Acts 15)

Paul and Silas in prison (Acts 16.16–40)

Paul preaches in Athens (Acts 17.16–34)

Paul is shipwrecked (Acts 27.1—28.15)

Paul preaches in Rome (Acts 28.16–31)